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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29307231">Bruised Knuckles</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/doctormctiddy/pseuds/doctormctiddy'>doctormctiddy</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Team Fortress 2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Comfort, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Multi, Mutual Pining, Pre-Relationship, Reader-Insert</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 08:13:20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,161</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29307231</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/doctormctiddy/pseuds/doctormctiddy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Medic takes care of the wounds on your knuckles which leads to a tender moment between you two.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Medic (Team Fortress 2)/You, RED Medic/You</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>80</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Bruised Knuckles</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is just self indulgent but remember kids, don't vent your emotions out by punching a wall!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Wordlessly you walked towards Medic’s laboratory as the top skin of your now raw knuckles pulsed with each beat of your heart. Normally you would have simply taken care of your own wounds without telling anyone that you had given into your unhealthy coping mechanism when the thoughts and feelings in your head got too overwhelming to deal with or put a name to. Feeling and accepting your anger over your other emotions had always been easier for you anyway. Life had been too hectic while working alongside the team and you had, unfortunately, forgotten to stock back up on your personal stash; leaving you to your current predicament. It makes sense you suppose, it’s only logical for Medic to have medical supplies lying around his lab, despite not being a licensed doctor anymore. You sigh and mutter several profanities under your exhausted breath, having since reached the laboratory doors. You really hadn’t want to expose your burdens to any of your close friends. Especially not Medic. Stiffening your posture and holding your head up you suck in a shallow breath and walk through the threshold of the towering metal doors, immediately being hit with whiplash as your vision becomes clouded with white as something soft collides directly into your face before descending to perch upon your shoulder, you don’t need to be a genius to recognise the warm mass of feathers as the one and only Archimedes.</p>
<p> “Haha! Looks like our little friend here has taken quite the liking to you!” Medic exclaims, not bothering to look up from his current “experiment,” knowing only you could evoke such a reaction in the dove. And here you had hoped to slip in and out of the lab unnoticed. You gently rubbed the pads of your fingers into Archimedes’ neck feathers as he snuggled into the crook of your neck, making sure to not accidentally press your stinging knuckles against his body as you hummed in agreement, your lips pressing together in a tight line. Upon hearing the short response from your usually chipper and talkative self Medic had looked up at you, his heart starting to beat faster than usual after soaking in the tender sight of you and his treasured pet, eyes widening and breath hitching at the sight of your wounded hands that were currently still buried in the depths of Archimedes’ soft down. You purposely kept your gaze fixated upon said dove before gazing down where, in that moment, you had decided the white tile of the laboratory was much more interesting, not trusting yourself quite yet to be able to not lock gazes with the doctor’s as you heard the sound of his chair squeaking momentarily before the unmistakable sound of him shuffling around the lab. His dirty boots invade the field of your vision before coming to a stop, inches away from your own.</p>
<p> “Liebling...” he spoke softly, more of a question as he extended his gauze filled hands towards you, silently asking for permission. Your heart skipped a beat as you wordlessly allow him to guide you over to his personal chair, keeping your eyes fixated on the lab floor still. Before you can fully register everything that had happened since stepping into the lab- from your anxiety that had flowed over your entire body as wavelengths, to Archimedes barreling into you, and to the warmth emitted from Medic’s hand that had rested on your unoccupied shoulder- a pained hiss had escaped your clenched teeth as you look down, realization setting in the fact that Medic had dipped your now swollen hands into a bowl of warm water, gently tracing the tips of his fingers over the blood that had since crusted over your knuckles, holding your hands with such delicacy and tenderness that no one would of expected could come from a man of Medic’s many “talents.” No words are exchanged between the two of you as he takes your hands out of the now lukewarm and red tinted water before gently dabbing at your knuckles with his lab coat, no words are needed during such a private and tender moment. The softness of the gauze against your hand contrasts with the dull stinging of freshly opened skin, you strain your ears to hear something other than the sound of your rapidly increasing heartbeat whilst ignoring the urge to meet the heated and questioning gaze closely inspecting your face. You endure the dull pain beneath Medic’s touch. The intimacy is striking. You fail miserably, letting down your walls and allowing yourself to be vulnerable as your eyes meet his reflective blue ones. You had always assumed that people would simply exaggerate the phrase of “time stopping between two people”, but in that second you had come to an understanding, in a way. In that moment it was purely as if the two of you were the only people who existed, the sole inhibitors of your mutual  bubble of combined fleeting touches and unspoken confessions that shakily ghost past lips. He gently takes your now gauze wrapped hands and envelops them into his larger ones, making sure not to accidentally apply too much pressure on the tender skin, you desperately try to push back the heat creeping up behind your neck and seeping deep beneath your flushed cheeks, effectively sealing your body with shaking warmth from head to toe. Medic smiles at you tenderly, face equally as flushed and tinting the tips of his ears, before gently reaching down to pat your knee. </p>
<p>“Well I must continue with my experiment my schatz! Thank you for stopping by!” Medic says hastily, jumbled up in bits of his thick accent before leading you by the shoulders and all but shoving you out of his laboratory door, leaving you utterly dumbfounded. Your mind wraps around itself on your short journey back to your room, juggling ideas as to the reason for Medic’s abrupt change in demeanor. In his lab, Medic grips the side of an examination table, threading his fingers through his black hair in an attempt to calm his racing heart, desperately trying to repress the wave of emotions that tug directly at his heart strings all whilst drowning himself back into his work to forget about his feelings for you. A sharp pain on his thumb had caused his head to snap down, only to see Archimedes of course, yanking on his skin and mustering up the best glare that a dove can give, as if saying, “Hey stupid! You just had your chance and you blew it!” Medic huffed, air blowing a strand of his hair out of his face before turning to continue cutting open the body of his current experiment. Once your head had hit your pillow you drifted off to the thought of Medic, how tenderly he had taken care of your wounds as opposed to the persona he usually displays, missing his longing gaze of utter adoration set upon your face.</p>
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